Donky Pitch: We never thought we would make it this far

8. říjen 2014

UK label Donky Pitch ranks among the most exciting ventures in the contemporary club music environment (and beyond). Starting 2009 in Brighton as a friendship of two likeminded music fans, it now has three full length albums and a wide roster of brilliant and unique producers to its credit. On the occassion of its 5th birthday this year, Turban spoke to one of the Donky Pitch originators, Pete Taylor, about the beginnings, crucial moments and future expectations of this neon enterprise.

When/Where could we trace the beginning of Donky Pitch back to? Was its birth planned or more of an unexpected delivery?Two people who unbeknown to each other were listening to the same weird sounds coming out of scandanavia, instrumental hip hop 7“s and synth soaked dubstep, they realised through a popular internet forum that they lived in the same town so met up and thought throwing some parties would be fun, this led naturally into running a label a while later. Everything was just planned one party at a time before moving onto the next, we are a little more organised these days.

What’s the concept behind the whole venture (if there is any?) Does Donky Pitch have some kind of leading philosophy concerning the sound/feel/tempo of its releases? How do you feel about all the current talk about the neo-neon sound in connection with Donky Pitch?There is no philosophy or concept as such, we believe in music that has an indiviudality to it‘s sound, where the artist may be influenced by many things but make something that is distinctive and unique to them…We both like music that is lead by melody and that is something that ties the artists and releases on our labels despite the tempo and style of music not having to be consitent across the music we put out.

We never intended or planned to be grouped into a particular genre or movement withing electronic music but in terms of people saying we have a Neon sound or Pop elements then I guess that comes from the type of melodies that we enjoy and that our artists create, it can be useful to be connected to modern trends in music but we consider ourselves broader and diverse than that and just continue to put out music we believe in.

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5 years is already quite some time to recapitulate: looking back, what were the crucial moments/releases to Donky Pitch history?There are many, here are a few:

1) The first time I met Dave – If we had not got on as friends and had similar ideas then I guess there would be no Donky Pitch or at least it would be very different to how it is today.

2) Our very first party – When we booked Slugabed , Gemmy and Rekordah...doing something very different to any night that had been in Brighton before. Flyering and postering every given opportunity and worrying that no one would turn up – it was a big success, we made a lasting friendship with Slugabed that has been influential in many of Donky moments throughout the years and we realised that there was an audience for what we were doing.

3) Our first release – A split between our residents at the time, Slugabed and Ghost Mutt alongside an iconic remix from Mweslee, we were so happy to have such a strong opening release on the label.

4) Our first full lenghth album – When we were planning the release of Nonfiction by The Range it was becoming very obvious just how special an album we had although nothing could prepare us for the reception and sucess it recieved. I’m immensely proud of the work that was put in on that release and that James has receieved the recognition he truly deserves. It was a big moment for us all.

5) Our 5th Birthday Parties – 5 years have really flown by, we never thought we would make it this far and be able to keep releasing great music, play shows overseas and meet all the great people we have along the way. The 5th birthday parties were a great way of celebrating all of these achievments the best way we know how, with a load of drink, our mates and some great loud music. Our London and Brighton parties were both packed and so much fun, a reminder why we do what we do.

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What are the nearest future plans and what could Donky Pitch fans (or extended family) look forward to in upcoming months?We are finalising release plans and working on our next parties, same as always really – running the label and working with artists can be unpredictale at times so can’t really confirm exact plans but we will be putting out music from both artists that have worked with us before and some exciting new talent.

After the first five years, could you dare to imagine now when/where Donky Pitch will be in the next five years?Hopefully still putting out great, unique music and having fun. Simple really.

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autor: Jan Bárta
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